Monday, November 28, 2005

Serena is soaring to Virginia...

I completed Serena, the beauty, and she's tucked safely in a padded Fed Ex Pak winging her way to Miss Isabel right this very moment...

I knit her, tucked all those pesky ends in, gently soaked her in some newly acquired Eucalen, and then blocked her. What an experience blocking is...after 24 hours, I was fearful she wasn't going to dry, so late last night, I put a fan on her and WHOOSH, she was dry in no time.

Looking elegant and regal, here, on my dear model-friend Paula, I present to you, Serena:




The details:

Pattern & incredibly prompt and gracious pattern help:
Serena by Wendy Wonnacott for The Garter Belt
Finished Measurements: Width: 13 inches Length: 67 inches
Yarn: Panache by Knit Picks in Moss; 68 yds per skein
Yardage: 522 yards
Needle: Size 11 Addis

It's a stylish pattern which appears more difficult to knit than it truly is...

Thursday, November 17, 2005

Serena, stopped dead



So I think this is possibly a great learning moment for me, I'm just not sure if I'm clear about what I need to learn, but I suspect it has to do with gauge...Here's my Serena so far:

I am using Panache (68 yards a skein) from Knit Picks, and size 11 needles. The pattern calls for a gauge of 12 sts/17 rows=4 inches. And I really did do a gauge - for about the 3rd time in my knitting life - not that that's long, but still...and I was only off a little. Maybe .5 at the most on the row count. So I thought the knitted piece might be a little small, since I purchased the yardage that the pattern called for: 270 yards. But here I am, only on row 115 or 235, and I'm out of yarn. All 4 skeins gone. So what did I do wrong?

Thursday, November 03, 2005

Oh sweet Ella



Here's my progress on miss Ella...designed by Miss Wendy. You can find her prowess at www.thegarterbelt.com She's my new hero. I'll wax on more about her later...
My little Ella is being done in Brooks Farm Four Play, colorway Golden Splendor 2, on size 10s, although I think I told someone somewhere I was on size 8s. What? This progress report is brought to you courtesy of Ali.

For the love of Freds




Meet Fred. And Fred. Aren't they cute?

Fred is one of Silke's designs. She's dreamy. You can find her work at www.smallknits.com. The light blue Fred is made out of Reynolds Lopi, and the coal/mist Fred is made our of Sierra from Knit Picks. You can see Ella peeking out of my Fred...

These are my first forays into felting. Fun, easy. And mistakes are gone *poof*, and I just adore bags. Fred is considered a basket. So I guess I'm fond of baskets too.